An Important Conversation
by Tailsofthefairies
Summary: Lucy and Lisanna have been in a committed relationship that has led to a great deal of happiness for both of them. However, Lisanna has been keeping her sexuality a secret from the guild. What will happen when Lucy asks her to come out to everyone for the sake of their relationship?
1. An Important Conversation

Lucy Heartfilia sighed and slipped her arm around Lisanna's shoulder as they sat on the shore watching the waves play with the colors of the sunset, twisting and tossing them into an abstract watercolor painting. As she moved closer to her girlfriend, Lucy felt her heart settle into her chest with a weight of contentment, but also one of mild worry. She adored her partner with every part of her being; she would sacrifice herself for Lisanna with no hesitation. What worried Lucy was not Lisanna – it was her family.

While Lucy had been out to the guild since not too long after joining, Lisanna still harbored her secret in the confines of her heart, locked away from everyone except Lucy. It had taken her quite a bit longer than her girlfriend to realize and accept her sexuality. In the circles she kept, all of the relationships were straight ones except for Natsu and Gray, and not until talking to Lucy one night while out on a mission did she admit that there could be another option besides men when it came to having a romantic partner, one that she'd considered briefly on many occasions but of which she refused to entertain the idea. Lucy's chest tightened at the memory of that conversation; she struggled to imagine the pain that must have resulted from so many years of inner turmoil and anguish and fear. However, she longed to propose to Lisanna one day and celebrate their marriage with the guild. In order to do that, Lisanna would eventually have to come out, and Lucy preferred for that to happen before she proposed.

Lucy slipped her free hand into her partner's and kissed her cheek gently for a few seconds before pulling back to marvel at the softness of Lisanna's profile, watching the way her eyes captured the union of sky and sea. Lisanna felt Lucy's gaze and turned to her.

"You okay, Luce?" she asked with a hint of concern. Lucy pulled herself out of her daze and smiled, squeezing Lisanna's hand. "Of course. I'm with you, aren't I?

Lisanna's cheeks reddened at the compliment; Lucy was so good at smoothly working them into her responses. She returned the squeeze. "You just seem worried about something. You've never been the greatest at hiding your emotions. What is it?"

Lucy released her grip of Lisanna's hand and stared down at her lap, wringing her own two hands together. She didn't want to pressure Lisanna into doing anything that made her uncomfortable, but Lisanna coming out was a necessary step if Lucy wanted to move forward with her plans and with their relationship in general. Lisanna lowered her gaze to try to meet Lucy's eyes.

"Hey…" she cooed, taking hold of Lucy's hand with both of her own and holding it securely. "I'm here."

Lucy closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and on the exhale, she blurted "I want you to come out to the guild." Lisanna's eyes sharpened with fear and her grip on Lucy's hand loosened. The fear in her eyes was replaced by small clouds of shame. "Or, at the very least, to your siblings," she added quickly. "They deserve to know. They love you so much, Lis. They want you to be happy." Lucy shifted to face her girlfriend and grabbed both of her hands. "And so do I. Lis, you aren't happy being in the closet. I know some people can do it for years and not have many issues, but you're the kind of person who loves to share her life with the people she cares about. This is such a vital aspect of your life, love. And I want you to be really, truly happy."

Lisanna smiled as a few stray tears escaped her eyes. Lucy leaned in and kissed away each tear as it fell before sitting back, her gentle smile fading.

"It's also a necessary step for our relationship. Lisanna, I want to marry you someday, and I want the whole guild to be part of the celebration. For both our sakes, I don't want to force you out of the closet by proposing when you're not ready to come out. I'll wait as long as you need me to, but this is something that needs to be talked about and considered. Will you at least promise to seriously consider coming out to even just one person at a time? And to have these discussions with me? It's so important."

Lisanna stared at the sand for a long while, drawing patterns in it while she processed what Lucy said. Finally she looked straight into her love's eyes, her own eyes glassy with tears of a thousand mixed emotions, and said, "I promise."

Lucy grinned and gently pressed her lips to Lisanna's for several seconds, tasting the salty tears that Lisanna had allowed to fall. When she pulled back and looked at her face, Lucy realized with a heart soaring so high it hurt that she had never been so in love with another human in her life, and nearly teared up herself thinking about how she had truly been given all of the luck that the universe had to offer. They helped each other up off of the sand, brushing each other off, and walked hand in hand through the evening shadows towards the guild as the ocean serenaded them with the softest goodbye melody.


	2. The Revelation

The warm glow of the guild's lights gradually replaced the flood of cool moonlight on Lucy and Lisanna's faces as they walked towards home. The walk from the beach had been peppered with quiet small talk in between stretches of thought, but as the din from the guild hall reached their ears, Lisanna stopped cold and gripped Lucy's hand tighter, her breathing becoming shallow.

"Lis? Lis, what's going on?" asked Lucy, her own muscles tensing with worry. She gently grasped Lisanna's shoulders and turned them towards her so she could see her girlfriend's face. "Talk to me. Please."

Lisanna took a shuddering breath and whispered, "I can't. I can't tell them."

Lucy's eyes softened in understanding as she wiped away the tears that had sprung anew onto Lisanna's cheeks. "You can, though. Lisanna, look at me." She tilted Lisanna's chin up until their eyes met. "Love, I know this guild and so do you. They are the most loving, accepting group of wizards – of _people_ – that you are ever going to meet. They adore you and yearn for your happiness. Natsu…when he thought you were dead for all of those years, it nearly destroyed him. Not to mention Mira and Elfman. They want to see you happy more than anyone or anything, because that's what family does. You remember when Natsu came out, right?" Lisanna smiled gently and nodded, recalling the pride and excitement she had felt for her friend. "Do you remember the air of joy that filled that guild hall?" Lucy continued. "Do you remember how long the celebration lasted for Natsu being brave enough to discover himself?"

"It was about four days, wasn't it?" said Lisanna. "Cana was so drunk by the end that Elfman had to carry her home so she wouldn't pass out in the street." A giggle escaped from Lisanna's lips, and Lucy laughed at the image of a drunk Cana slurring congratulations to Natsu before attempting to order more drinks, an order that was stoutly denied by Mirajane, who then called her brother over to take Cana home. A peaceful silence hung between them as they watched the scene play out in their heads. Lucy sighed and took Lisanna's hand.

"Are you ready?" she asked.

Lisanna paused for a moment, gathering her courage, and nodded firmly, eliciting a proud smile from Lucy, who asked, "Who do you want to tell first?"

Lisanna pondered the question then confidently replied, "Everyone."

"Everyone?" Lucy repeated, surprised. "Are you sure?" Lisanna nodded more readily this time before assuring her with a resolute "yes." Lucy marveled at her girlfriend's strength and courage, and felt honored knowing that a large part of why Lisanna was doing this was for her. She wrapped her arms securely around Lisanna for a few moments, savoring how it felt. "Do you want to get a drink before you do it?"

Lisanna shook her head. "No, I want my mind to be as clear as possible. After the fact might be a different story, but I want it to be a drink of celebration, not as an analgesic to my fear." Her words were growing more confident and assured, and Lucy knew she could do this.

"Okay then. Let's go," said Lucy.

The two girls walked towards the door, hearing more and more specific people as they drew closer. Natsu and Gray were arguing about something indistinguishable, Happy asked Mirajane for the millionth time if she had any fish behind the bar, and Elfman, in response to seeing Erza's new armor, boomed, "That's so manly!"

When they reached the door and opened it to let the light flood onto their faces, several guild members turned and smiled widely upon seeing who had returned home. Natsu paused in his argument to grin at them and greet them cheerfully before resuming a serious countenance as he continued to defend his honor before his boyfriend. Levy's face brightened when she saw Lucy and pulled her aside to tell her about the new facts she'd been researching. Lisanna had been walking towards the back of the guild hall to greet her siblings when Erza clasped her shoulder in a friendly grip and kindly welcomed her back home.

 _Why am I so afraid to be open with these people?_ Lisanna admonished herself silently. _All they know how to do is love. It's why I'm here; it's why I feel so safe in this place. So why should I be scared?_ Lisanna was startled out of her inner monologue by Lucy, who brushed her fingers against Lisanna's clammy palm. Instinctively, Lisanna curled her own fingers around Lucy's and instantly felt safe. "I'm ready," she whispered.

Lucy nodded and smiled and together they walked onto the open stage where guild members stood when they needed to make announcements. Out of habit, everyone quieted and looked at them with a mix of curiosity and expectation. Lucy stepped forward, Lisanna's hand still secured in her own. "Lisanna has a few words she wants to say to you all. Please give her your respect and attention." She squeezed her girlfriend's hand tightly once, then released it and stepped off of the stage, leaving Lisanna in the spotlight.

It took a few moments to find her voice, but when she did, she began shakily, "Uh…hey, everyone." She coughed to clear the tension in her throat. "So, I've known most of you for a really long time now and I love and adore every single one of you. You are all my family and I treasure each of you so deeply in my heart. That love also comes with a strong sense of trust, which I am displaying now to you." She stopped to take a deep breath and scan the faces in the crowd. "I want you to know that…that I, Lisanna Strauss, am a lesbian. And I am fully, completely, totally, unabashedly in love with Lucy Heartfilia. I hope that you will continue to welcome me in the guild and love me just as well as you always have, because I love each of you so much. Thank you for everything." Lisanna shakily nodded her head to signify the end of her speech and walked towards the edge of the stage, not daring to glance at the sea of faces before her. Step by step, she descended towards the silent crowd and awaited their response.


	3. Community

The next few seconds felt like they lasted a hundred years. Lisanna could barely focus on anything other than the sound of her heart ramming against her chest, and the room felt like a twisted sort of carousel. She gripped Lucy's arm to keep herself upright. The room started to look like it was moving, closing in tighter around her until her arms, shoulders and back were all covered with the hands of her guild members circling around her, enveloping her in an ocean of love. Lisanna took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of her friends – no, her family. Every face was awash in compassion and pride for their sister.

Natsu was at her right shoulder, tears in his eyes from understanding what few others in the group could understand about this moment. Lisanna looked directly at him, saw his tears, and lost her composure. She buried her face into his scarf, her body shaking with tears. Natsu wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly while the crowd continued to move in closer in support of Lisanna.

For several minutes, they remained this way. Finally, Natsu gently took Lisanna by the shoulders, looked at her tear-stained face with his wide grin, and said, "You know what it's time for now, don't you?"

Lisanna narrowed her eyes in confusion, causing Natsu to grin even wider. "It's party time!" Lisanna let out a laugh of relief. She had done it. It may have been one of the most terrifying things she'd ever endured – and being in a wizard guild, that bar was quite high – but she'd proven to herself that if she could do this, she no longer had anything to fear.

The guild members broke the circle and spread out over the guild hall to set up for a celebration. Lucy walked up behind Lisanna and slipped her fingers between her girlfriend's.

"I cannot even describe how proud of you I am right now. Or how deeply in love with you I am. My dear, you are truly my hero and everything I adore about this world. Your bravery and strength have never been a surprise to me, but every day you display them in new ways." She turned to Lisanna and took her face in her hands. "Breathe."

Lisanna took a deep, shuddering breath, and her exhale turned into a laugh. It was the most beautiful sound Lucy had ever heard. It was also different than any laugh she'd ever heard from Lisanna. Encompassed in that simple sound was a confidence and a glowing joy that Lucy had never seen in Lisanna, but in that moment, it was all that she wanted to see or hear for the rest of her life. She knew that her love had had a painful life; all of them had. But there always seemed to be something holding Lisanna back from truly overcoming all of the pain.

Her secret had been the bar to the door that was holding back her happiness. Letting out her secret meant removing that bar for good, allowing that happiness to burst through the open door into the light of the world. Lucy got to see every moment of that process from a front row seat, and would keep that seat for the rest of their lives together.

Walking up behind Lisanna were Elfman and Mirajane. "I think a couple of people want to see you," Lucy smirked, motioning over Lisanna's shoulder. She turned and as soon as she realized who was standing there, she ran to embrace them both before remembering how big Elfman was, so tried again one at a time.

Mira looked down at her sister with tear-sparkled eyes and whispered, "I'm so proud of you, Lis. Your courage is a testament to the strength of your soul and we will always be right here with you and for you and Lucy. Thank you for showing me what true bravery is. I love you." She held Lisanna in her arms for a few moments before releasing her and motioning to Elfman, who was holding a handful of tissues that he kept blotting at his waterfall of a face.

"That's the manliest thing I've ever seen!" he sputtered while reaching his arms all the way around his little sister, grasping her a little too tightly before remembering his own strength and loosening his grip. Mirajane turned to Lucy and embraced her.

"Thank you for taking care of her. You two are so deserving of each other, and I couldn't think of a better lifelong partner for her. Did you encourage her to do that?" Mirajane asked.

"I did," Lucy admitted, glancing at the floor.

Mirajane put a finger under Lucy's chin and tilted her eyes back up to meet her own. "Thank you. I mean it. I can already tell the difference. Her hug felt different, and her face had this peace that I don't think I've seen on it since the day she was born. You did a marvelous thing, Miss Lucy. Thank you so much."

Lucy blushed and quickly wiped away the tear escaping from her eye. "Thank you, Mira, for caring for her and teaching her all these years. You shaped her into the person I feel in love with, and I am indebted to you for that."

Their conversation was interrupted by an impatient Cana clapping Mirajane on the shoulder. "Hey Mira," she said, a little too loudly, "What's a celebration without some drinks?" Mira chuckled and smiled at Lucy then walked towards the bar.

The rest of the evening was filled with joy and congratulations and laughter. Lucy was thoroughly enjoying all of it and loved seeing her girlfriend so happy and free, but she felt a twinge of worry in her heart about the days to come. She didn't suspect that it had anything to do with Lisanna and their relationship, but she could never be sure. She had the strange feeling that the guild as a whole – possibly all of Magnolia – was in danger, and that stopping whatever terrible force that might be coming would take a level of strength that they had never had to use before.


End file.
